In aircraft, interior furnishings, such as ceiling or wall panels, are attached to the primary structure or other supporting aircraft elements using appropriately mounted holder or attachment elements. The fuselage of the aircraft deforms significantly during flight, because of pressure differences, for example. Therefore, sometimes significant tensions act on the attachments or panel elements, which result in deformation or displacement of the panels and in visual changes of the gap or joint dimensions in relation to one another.
Aircraft cabins are all manufactured by approximately the same technological method. All components, such as wall paneling elements (window panels, window front plates, ceiling panels) receive complex edge radii and are suspended in the space, partially three-dimensionally. A fixed bearing and a movable bearing ensure mobility in the event of fuselage deformations. In this case, large movements or deformations of the fuselage are immediately visible to the passenger.
Elastic visual covers within or behind the joints, such as weatherstripping (“Kederbänder”), routinely malfunction during daily operation and require regular repair.
Furthermore, the required removal, installation, maintenance, and repair of the window panels or window front plates are time-consuming and costly factors in daily operation.
The components and joints in the spherical areas of the cabin are particularly subjected to special requirements.